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Indy 500: Notes and Quotes

Happiness reigned in Victory Lane after today’s popular win by fan-favorite Juan Pablo Montoya, but not all drivers had the success and satisfaction that JPM, Will Power and Charlie Kimball enjoyed. Bryan Clauson, Conor Daly and Tony Kanaan ended their day in the track’s Care Center and the garage area-far too early for their liking.

Ended Too Soon

Bryan Clauson had a solid run going before he found the turn 4 wall. [Mark Walczak Photo]

Bryan Clauson had a solid run going before he found the turn 4 wall. [Mark Walczak Photo]

Just one year ago, long-time Indianapolis entrant Jonathan Byrd Racing announced a return to the 500 after a long absence.

The announcement paired Byrd’s team with support from KVSH Racing, and the team signed veteran USAC open-wheel champion Bryan Clauson to drive in the 500 in 2015 and 2016.

Clauson, who finished 30th for Sarah Fisher Hartman in his only 500 appearance (2012), was 31st today after making contact with the Turn 4 SAFER Barrier on Lap 64. Clauson climbed from the car without assistance, but a feel-good story, featuring a young short-track star who lives in Indiana, ended all too quickly.

“It wasn’t really that hard of a hit, that angle there. We we’re trying to run our own race and our car just went away there towards the end of that first run. Fell back from the pack in there just trying to run the 500 miles and it was a dumb mistake and was right there in the thick of some leaders (I was) trying to get to the bottom and got up a little high on a long green flag run. Got up in the marbles and there was no saving it. We struggled for speed all month and were hanging-in there just trying to run 500 miles and it was a dumb mistake.” Hopefully his 2016 race will turn out better.

Ended Before It Started

Conor Daly's day ended before the green flag. [Mark Walczak Photo]

Conor Daly’s day ended before the green flag. [Mark Walczak Photo]

Conor Daly has been trying since 2012 to become a regular driver on the Verizon IndyCar circuit. Following a test with A.J. Foyt Racing in 2012 he made his series debut with Foyt a year later, finishing 22nd in the 500. After two years of competition in Europe (2012-13), the 23-year-old Indiana native raced for Dale Coyne at Long Beach in April and signed with Schmidt Peterson for the 500, but once more a good story in the making went wrong; this time before the green flag ever waved.

“I don’t really know what happened. We just started seeing smoke,” explained Daly, who had to pull his Fueled by Bacon Special-Honda off the backstretch on the second parade lap. “I don’t know why. The car’s back there now, so we’ll see what happens. This is my only opportunity all year, so to not be able to start is devastating.” Daly could not return to competition and finished last.

Heartbroken

Tony Kanaan's bid for a 2nd Indy 500 win ended against the turn 3 wall. [Mark Walczak Photo]

Tony Kanaan’s bid for a 2nd Indy 500 win ended against the turn 3 wall. [Mark Walczak Photo]

Hard-luck story No. 3 involved fan-favorite Tony Kanaan, who won the 500 in 2013. Kanaan, who replaced friend Dario Franchetti at Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2014, led 4 times for thirty laps today before crashing in Turn 4 on lap 152. Kanaan wiggled and did a quarter spin in his NTT Data Ganassi Chevrolet before making contact with the SAFER Barrier. He blamed a change he made on the last pit stop for the crash.

“We had been loose all day and we made a change on the last stop and it was apparently the wrong way to go. It’s unfortunate. We had a strong race all day between the Penske boys and the Ganassi guys. But I was trying and actually we finally proved that we don’t flip every time we crash. I’m heartbroken but OK.”

NOTES:
• Of the six caution periods which at times looked like a demolition derby, five involved ‘contact’ among 11 cars. Among the drivers involved, Sebastian Saavedra was treated for a contusion to his right foot. Daniel Jang, right-rear tire changer for Dale Coyne’s No. 18 driven by Tristan Vautier, underwent surgery for a broken ankle, suffered during a pit stop incident involving Vautier and another Coyne driver, James Davison.

• There were 37 lead changes among 10 drivers with winner Juan Pablo Montoya leading just nine of the 200 laps. 47 laps were run under caution.

• Honda’s hope for an upset victory over Chevrolet vanished as Chevy-powered cars took the top four spots and eight of the top 10. Only strong runs by Graham Rahal (5th) and Marco Andretti (6th) prevented a Bow-Tie sweep.

• TV star and part-time road racer Patrick Dempsey was the honorary starter for the 500.

• Winner Montoya now leads the IndyCar Series points chase with a 25-point lead over Will Power followed by Scott Dixon (-60), Helio Castroneves (-66) and Rahal (-68).

• A media veteran noted that, due to the first-lap crash involving four drivers, Pace Car driver and NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon led the most laps before the green flag flew again 10 laps later. The last time that there was a yellow flag on the first lap was in 2010 when Davey Hamilton made contact in Turn 2.

• Dixon, who had by far the strongest car through much of the race, led 84 laps before bowing to Montoya and Power in the final laps.

• Third-place finisher Charlie Kimball ran the fastest race lap at a speed of 226.712 mph on lap 102. Tony Kanaan had the quickest lap by a leader, 224.767 mph on lap 22.

• Today’s win by Team Penske is car owner Roger Penske’s 16th since his first 500 in 1969. Montoya’s is the 11th different driver to win the 500 for the team. Today’s win was also the second here for JPM, the other coming for Chip Ganassi.

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